A year later, right recalls Andrew Breitbart

Conservatives took to Twitter and blogs Friday to remember Andrew Breitbart, the right-wing commentator and activist who died a year ago of heart failure at the age of 43.

“I miss Andrew for many reasons,” conservative commentator Jedediah Bila wrote at Breitbart.com, one of Breitbart’s conservative websites. “He was the kind of guy who would tell you the truth even if it was hard to hear. He was the kind of guy who people just wanted to be around because there was something entertaining about almost everything that came out of his mouth…Most of all, he was the kind of guy who wasn’t afraid to be creative, to think outside the box, and to brainstorm projects that might be risky, but would leave their mark on history and change hearts and minds.”

“Andrew was my shade,” recalled conservative radio host Dana Loesch, in an interview with RedState.com. “He would walk through the fires of hell holding gas cans for you. He didn’t believe in needlessly sacrificing our own to satisfy the left. He never left anyone behind. He didn’t sweat the small stuff. He was my friend and I miss him.”

“Thinking of dear friend & lover of freedom & liberty @AndrewBreitbart. He lives on in hearts & minds & is 4ever an inspiration. #breitbart,” tweeted Amy Kremer, chair of the Tea Party Express.

Breitbart was a controversial figure in some circles, engaging in activism that sometimes got him in trouble: he posted a video in 2010, for example, that appeared to show an African American Agriculture Department employee, Shirley Sherrod, confessing to discrimination — but in fact she was referencing an episode that occurred 20 years earlier.

He also supported undercover videos designed to capture ACORN workers offering advice about taking part in illegal activities, and was a visible and vocal opponent of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) as a scandal involving the then-congressman and inappropriate messages on Twitter came to light.

On Friday, conservatives remembered Breitbart as a champion of liberty and of important conservative causes.

“Every defender of liberty takes heart in his accomplishments, and now in his legacy,” the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation said as part of a statement. “He reminded us of things that should never be forgotten: that the truth has more power than the lie, that freedom defeats oppression, and that we must fight for both every waking day. He was a genius of the communicative art, and a pioneer in the marriage of new media to enduring principle.”

“Andrew Breitbart was the living spirit of what is missing in the conservative movement today — fearlessness to defend the true ideals of what our country really stands for,” wrote Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, who worked with Breitbart, in a piece in the Washington Times. “He was and will always remain a true American hero.”

Pamela Geller, writing at the blog Atlas Shrugs, argued that the right has declined with Breitbart’s death.

“We have not recovered from the void left in his wake,” she wrote. “No one on the right has followed in those fabulous footsteps or led by his example. Just the opposite. The right shrunk in the wake of his death. Withered. Even the organization that bears his name is a big yawn and has abandoned the guerrilla media warfare Andrew was famous (and infamous) for. With so much at stake, this is the time to fly without a net, to be bold and daring.”